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1. Field of Invention
An air diversion device captures a flow of air from above a roadway vehicle, more specifically large tractor trailer rigs operating over the highway, and forcibly diverts the captured air to the heart of the low pressure air void created behind the roadway vehicle as it passes over a roadway, reducing the amount of drag force applied to the roadway vehicle, thus increasing and enhancing the efficiency of operation of the roadway vehicle. The diversion device includes at least one air intake manifold placed on the top of the roadway vehicle near the rear of the roadway vehicle, a channeled duct system, and a forced air outlet projecting the forced air gathered by the air intake manifold through the channeled duct system, ejecting the forced air in a relatively horizontal plane into the mid-center portion of the rear of the roadway vehicle at a highly accelerated rate.
2. Description of Prior Art
The following United States patents were discovered and are disclosed within this application for utility patent. All relate to air channelers, truck air ducts and drag reduction mechanisms, all relative to truck efficiency.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,057 to Sharp, an air channeler is disclosed wherein an entrance opening collects an amount of air from either a disclosed upper or side portion of a tractor trailer and channels the air into the center of the rear of the truck to provide the deflected air to the rear of the truck not only to minimize air drag and vacuum behind the truck, but to also keep the rear surface of the truck clean from debris and also to provide an amount of liquid cleaner to the rear surface through feed lines and a fluid pump mechanism. This device is provided as either attached to the swinging doors, FIG. 4, or pivotally mounting to the sides of the truck and moved out of the way for a sliding overhead door, FIGS. 7-10. The entrance opening and the exit openings appear to be and are disclosed as being the same size, and the exit opening does not eject the air outward from the rear of the truck, but to the rear center of the truck.
The duct apparatus of U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,920 to Goudey attaches to the corners of a semi-tractor trailer, van or bus and diverts air perpendicularly into the rear plane of the applied vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,575 to Fairburn is an air channeler which derives intake air from the underside of a trailer and diverts the air through a cylindrical conduit to the rear of either the tractor or trailer or both. This duct has a damper located within the conduit. The air conduit is provided into two sectionsxe2x80x94a stationary section, terminating at its rearward end into a lip, just forward of the rearmost surface of a rear bumper of the trailer. A moveable portion has an upright portion and an elbow, with the elbow projecting forward a distance under the trailer, terminating in a lip. A rubber seal is applied to the lip of the elbow and the pressed against the lip of the rearward end of the stationary section, sealing the two section of the conduit. The air inlet is greater in diameter than the conduit and is located on the undercarriage of the semi-tractor trailer in front of the rear wheels to minimize the intake of more turbulent air.
The current channel apparatus, preferable provided in a pair of matched sets, scoops smooth air from the upper surface or roof of the roadway vehicle into an enlarged intake portion of an intake manifold which funnels the gathered air horizontally into a transfer end of the intake manifold. The funneled and accelerated compressed air is transferred into an flexible elbow which is removably inserted within the transfer end of the intake manifold, the elbow being made of a compressible and expandable material, the elbow further directing and diverting the air vertically to a downdraft duct attached to the rear surface of the roadway vehicle. The downdraft duct has a draft vent opening to promote the flow of air through the downdraft duct and to relieve stress upon on the downdraft duct, the downdraft duct having a ramped exhaust port with a removable dispersion screen, diverting the air from the downdraft duct directly outward from the rear surface of the roadway vehicle into the heart of a low pressure void behind the roadway vehicle, filling the void as quickly as possible with the ejected accelerated high velocity air. The ratio of the square dimension area of exhaust port of the downdraft duct to the intake portion of the intake manifold is at least 1:5, to promote the most rapid filling of the low pressure void as possible.
Drivers of roadway vehicle of a large size are hampered in the cost of travel and transport by a low pressure draft created behind their vehicles, as documented in the prior art cited above. For several years, attempts have been made to provide devices to either stem the flow of air around the vehicles, or to divert or channel air into the low pressure void. While several devices have provided air to the rear of the vehicle, none of them have disclosed an apparatus that collected air, accelerated and compressed the air flow through a channel and ejected the accelerated and compressed air directly into the center or heart of the low pressure void created by the moving roadway vehicle, filling the low pressure void in a rapid manner as indicated by the current invention.
The primary objective of the invention is to provide a means of gathering smooth horizontal air from an upper surface of a roadway vehicle, compressing and accelerating the air through a substantial and mechanical tapered manifold and transferring the compressed and accelerated air vertically through a downdraft duct with a draft vent opening, and ejecting the compressed and accelerated air in a horizontal plane into a low pressure air void directly behind the roadway vehicle, converting the smooth upper air into forced linear air directed to the void to the fill the low pressure void in a rapid manner.
A second objective of the apparatus is to create the proper acceleration and compression of air by the apparatus by making the square area of the intake portion of the apparatus at least five times larger than the square area of the exhaust portion of the apparatus.
A third objective is to provide the device in a mode which will not interfere with access to the rear of the roadway vehicle to open and shut doors on the rear of the roadway vehicle.
A fourth objective of the device is to improve upon the prior art which did not provide for it means of accelerating and compressing air through their devices, did not provide an adequate mode to prevent and eliminate impedance to access to the rear of the vehicle to which they were mounted, and provide for the gathering of smooth air from the upper surface of the roadway vehicle as opposed to turbid air from the underside and sides of the vehicle, diverting this accelerated air directly outward into the center of the low pressure void at the rear of the vehicle.